You'll probably never read this, it's six years after your gate crashing post telling those of us who condemned your selfish, bone headed action to go fuck ourselves. It was entitled assholes like you who were poisoning the scene. No wonder that was Jerry's strongest New Speedway in ages. He was singing at you and the other jerks.

tHIS WAS MY LAST SHOW SADLY,I LOVE THE PROFESSIONALISM SHOWED BY THE BAND THAT NITE THE FIRST SET EVEN THOUGH I FELT THE DAGGER IN MY HEART AS IM SURE THEY DID,I THINK THE SECOND SET WAS SOME OF THE BEST FROM 95

This copy of this show & about 18 more shows I was trying to get back from my collection was stolen out of my tent where I live especially the shows I've been to I would really like to get back I got on the Buss in 88 & I'm trying 2 get good copy's at least listenable copy's for the whole 90's east coast shows got some but shows like this one are password protected archives if you could help me out I would protect the tapers code & keep it in my personnel collection. So I'm at your mercy for the password to unzip the file for this show. Thank you for your time. Hit me back @ Durklurkin@live.com if ya can share the password Thanks Bro! (~);}

I was there for "therapy" to deal with the OKC bombing fallout as my sister had died in it, but that whole week taught me other lessons about life like the utter stupidity & selfishness the youth had become & how NOT to be when faced with shitty situations. I was 21 at the time & felt 60 because of what the youth did that night. I was embarrassed to even be outside on the grounds at all after the nioght was over. It was only my 3rd show (gimme a break, I lived in oppressive Arkansas until around that time). I was there outside too but with tix for the next night & for the rest of the tour. Me & a friend were tripping our brains out by the water listening while another friend was inside taping. But when I saw the mob headed up the hill toward the gates/fence we stood up in awe, wondering what violence the cops did to trigger this since these jackbooted idiots were EVERYWHERE that night. We were horrified & of course this all spun us into a funky trip from hell. We did end up force-laughing it off to just get through the night not realizing what the fools had actually done until after the show & our friend told us the "inside" story. Man the Boys were so pissed that when they left the venue the tour bus was in a constant semi-truck horn mode. VERY loud & obvious they were pissed. i felt bad since my body contributed to the number of people outside even though we did nothing "wrong". Sooo, when they canceled the next day we sold our St. Louis tix thinking it'd be more of the same perhaps (2 people died I think from a porch collapse after a show there) & hung out in Chicago & ended up catching the last 2 shows ever. It was surreal to say the least and the therapy worked but VERY differently than I thought it would... ain't that just like the Dead? There's always more than "a concert"!!

And who could forget the final Deer Creek Dead show in 1995? We had tickets for the following night and were content to just hang outside by the lake. During the first set (Desolation Row) I saw a swarm of lanky hippies charge the hillside. I realized that all hell was going to break loose. I looked at Alex and said, "Let's roll!" I foolishly tossed a small cooler of beer over my head and started running. Then I thought to myself, why the fuck did I do that? I fought my way back through the sea of stank bodies and retrieved the mini-cooler. After we made our way in through the jagged torn up fence, I opened a luke-cold Keystone and took a big gulp. Very satisfying. There was a lot of negativity expressed toward the gate crashers. To all of you, I still say - go fuck yourselves.

I must speak my peace here. I was inside at the top. I heard the commotion outside and looked through the fence and saw people as much as three deep at a marked off line where about six cops stood in a line. One was walking back and forth with a dog. I saw one deadhead who WAS on tour running the length of the crowd urging them on. It was at that point they made the run. I in no way applauded this group as I started screaming GO DOWN GO DOWN they are going to push the fence down on us. The first person over I saw hopped the chain link on the side. Then the boards started coming off the fence. I turned and could not watch anymore. As we stood in shocked amazement, I knew it was bad. When they were all in, I headed back up to the fence. As soon as I was at the top the first thing, I saw was two what appeared to me to be locals (I was on the whole tour and never saw these people.) As the ushers and cops were trying to put some of the boards in place as they said, "go ahead and put them back we will just tear it down again. I went straight to them and asked WHAT are you doing?????? The show is on the stage!!!!!!!!! Three others joined me we surround these two people and said who are you???? How dare you!!!! You do not have a clue what you have done.
It progressed even into the next day as we went to mcd's for breakfast and a kid beside me turned and said, "Can you believe this? They are wearing tie-dyes trying to impress. "I threw down and told him Deer Creek and Noblesville have always welcomed us. Signs saying welcome deadheads on many businesses. Now it will never be again.
I nver applauded. miracles were there. I handed out 1 in an incredible wayat this very show.
My husband and I went in and they took only one of our tickets. As SOON as we got through the gate we looked down and of all things there was ANOTGER TICKET!!!!!! My husband went out and miracled one ticket and used his to get back in. (you can call this a rip off but I truly see this as a MIRACLE.) The point????? Many ways to get into a show without destruction.

What Aeschylus talks about is correct. There was an over-the-top police presence at this particular concert. It was thick, everywhere in the air. It was oppressive and confrontational. For example, we saw three buzzcut policemen in garish tie-dyes chasing a hippie around the lake in the late afternoon at the base of the hill at the spot where the later storming of the wall would take place. This was like no other concert at Deer Creek (I missed only one of them.) The weird vibe introduced by the police was the catalyst for all the negative energy that was to transpire later that evening. I was sitting on the grass stage left and hardly noticed the wall crashing. The concert was good, and i was looking forward to the next night, and to many years down the road. Grateful to have the music. Many thanks.

From 3-rivers to this and planning to be in for three days & two shows, I am thankful of the farmer & providing his land which (with his permission) allowed us to stay the entire time even without the second night of the oncerts.

I was at this show. First of all, understand that I am by no means attempting to excuse my actions. Charging that hill and HOPPING that fence was a stupid, immature, childish thing to do and I deeply regret it to this day. I was sixteen years old and spun outta my brain on mushrooms. I roamed Deer Creek's grounds for 6 hours looking for a ticket to no avail. I don't even remember how it got started. I just remember shortly after hearing that they were painting the passports brown a dozen fuckers on each side of me began charging up the hill. So, being 16, full of pscilocybin, 3 dollar parking lot sammys, and whatever else my young dumd ass could find, I, naturally, joined the herd. I didn't even realize that what I had done was wrong until after the show.

I call myself Lucky Kid because being born in '78 and havig had the privelege to see The Boys eight times makes me pretty lucky, I think. The reason for this good fortune was that I had two older brothers, one of whom saw them in upwards of 220 times. Anyway, my friends and I met up with my brother and his friends (who were all on tour) after the show and stayed at his friend Julie's house. My brother and all of his friends let me know what an inconsiderate little shit I was after I told him wht I had done. I looked up to my brother quite a bit back then and I had never felt so ashamed in my life. Fortunately, he did forgive me. Though I'm not sure I ever forgave myself. Anyway, I went home to Louisville, and he and his friends went on to Riverport.

A week later my friend Ted and I made the five hour trek up I-65 to Chicago. We were shut out the first night and fortunate enough to see the finale. I met up with my brother afterwards and we partied like rock stars til the wee hours. I've read mixed reviews about that show on this site. Maybe I wasn't "HIP" enough then to know whether the fat man was on or off, but it remains one of the fondest memories of my life and anyone who tells me that that Samson, So Many Roads didn't smoke is fuckin lying.

In closing, let me say that The Grateful Dead was then and is now my favorite band. I just saw Bobby at Red Rocks over Labor Day weekend actually. I consider Garcia to be the greatest improvisational guitarist that ever graced the stage and I am very, very thankful for havig had the opportunity to see them live. And finally, back to the purpose of this post. Words cannot express, particularly to those that were already inside the show and, of course, The Boys themselves, how sorry I am for charging that hill and hopping that fence. I wish I had not done it!

Who were these people cheering wildly for this band that was in free fall? Anybody who'd seen them play at this venue in 1989 would have been sitting on the ground and crying. Jerry is in that somnabulistic state that happens when you're fucked up on drugs and think no one notices (David Crosby did this in concert for years). "Maybe if I sing with emotion, no one will notice that I'm not able to play." You know what? I don't even think he was thinking that far ahead. I think he was thinking . "Get me out of this. I need a break."

Clearly Garcia needed a respite from everything and clearly the GD machine wouldn't let him. Bad GD machine! Bad band! No doses for you! But his health was so bad at this point we probably would have lost him anyway.

Something happens when the gate crashers pour in and the band watches. Desolation Row falls apart temporarily, then they recover. Bobby changes his rythym style to something more choppy and percussion-like, as if he's the one trying to save it on stage (it's his song after all---me? I would have stopped playing but, hey, the show must go on!). The drummers take a powder and Phil is clearly too distressed to play. The last straw, they all probably thought. Or just another night on Hell Tour?

But then the gig gets interesting and a band literally dying before our eyes starts to comment through song, and Garcia, still imprisoned by his demons, responds as best he can. Somehow they manage to play a show, even though they probably had the "fuck this shit" talk during the break. Anticipating a riot if they did book, they play as clear a fuck you to the gate crashers as possible.

It's the reason I come back to this show. It's the Hell Tour in a nutshell. It really has some weird dynamic that makes it as interesting as watching the aftermath of a train wreck. But with better songs. Don't get me wrong I actually like this show.

The New Speedway is the perfect choice and it's as good as any New Speedway I heard from '92. I never liked the way they played it after its stunning breakout in '91 apart from the RFK version from this same tour, and maybe the Shoreline '95 version.

I'll never understand why, when it was so clear for years, that the band, because of Garcia, was in severe decline, that thousands still wanted to crash a Dead show. There was a surfeit of idiots who wanted a party and to get in on the fun, I guess. Some party. Some fun. Excuse us, we're watching our band die here, if you don't mind.

If they had played stadiums around this holiday week-end this debacle probably wouldn't have happened. Highgate was a clusterfuck too with a bad bad show. But this show is more interesting. Like a late Charlie Parker date. You can't help but be proud of them playing through the storm. You kind of want to hug them. There are some real surprises here and one of them is their perserverance. They were the Dead. What else did they know but that they must let the music play the band.

I'll come back to this one. It's historical and has its moments.

The sound is the usual mediocre sort of recording I regularly received from 93-95, but because it's outdoors, it ain't too bad. Phil is clear. And the other audience I heard back in '96 was worse. I'd take this over the SBD just because this kind of demands that you hear the crowd to "get it".

Lastly, the Broken Arrow is a bit much, if you want my opinion, with Jerry's awful fooling around with that MIDI pedal steel (a terrible insult to Phil) and Phil's punk rock vocal.

Maybe that caused the riot.

Kidding.

Deer Creek was heaven any other year. I miss it. I miss them more.

Whatever could be said about the Dead in 1995, that rusty old machine...


I enjoy it even with holes and really bad playing at times. The ruggedness is not pretty, and can be sad.

Yet, there are moments. I do admit a fondness for this Desolation Row.

There are far better ones out there, but I enjoy this one.

Bad move. It really is a low class thing to do...

The show itself was above average for the tour (but maybe being second row Jerry's side has skewed my perspective), albeit forever tainted whether it deserves to be or not. There is still a crisp Dire Wolf (w/ Jer grinning ear to ear even if he meant the "Don't Murder Me" line), a monstrous Let it Grow, and a Fire that goes so far off the band forgets they only sang one verse before traveling into an ominous, befitting Victim. All Too Much ("for me to take") and New Speedway (de facto "riot" song) were also carefully selected by the band I'm sure. That aside...Sunshine, All Too Much, New Speedway, Attics, Sugar and Quinn are also welcome additions to any show.

Recording cuts pulls it from a 4 to a 3. I can't go as low as a 1 though, but I can understand the critique of cutting a Scarlet/Fire mid-way. I'm choosing to rate it on the show itself though, regardless of the recording and the exterior incident. If you think it's too generous, don't worry, there's plenty of people on this board underating the show based solely on the gate-crashing (it's NOT a 0, 1 or 2-star show from a playing and setlist perspective--don't care what you say). What's also a bummer is we didn't get our Help/Slip/Frank the next night (standard Deer Creek number) and it would have been the last ever; never was played the rest of the tour to all our collective loss.

Incidentally, the soundcheck for this show was perhaps the best treat of the day. I remember sitting with a bud by the creek itself and listening to clear versions of Death Don't, Hoochie Coochie Man (bob singing), a full Visions of Johanna, and a couple HC Sunshines...quite a moment I'll never forget.

that sums up "the scene" entirely... plenty of good folks but way too many low-rent grifting pukes trying to get over on each other while veiling it in brotherhood/communal living, whatever the fuck..

i'm glad i only caught one '95 show and i'm even happier that it wasn't a bad painful memory like many of you apparently had at this debacle...

we were pretty excited driving out from sh*t hole jersey to see a show at deer creek in my mom's station wagon! the scene was indeed crazy, even getting into the parking lot they had not parking ticket people, but cops with german shephards that were at random busting lots of people. it was kind of scary. i unfortunately could not find a ticket, got split up from my friends and wound up wandering around outside until i finally crashed out in the grass. i remember the speedway boogy was indeed tasty, but for me the true highlight was attics. i remember laying in the grass, watching all the crazies pile in over the hill and through the fence, then the longest line of police cars i've ever scene, except for maybe the blues bro's movie, then helicopters and cops with dogs that were chewing on people... it was all so damn chaotic BUT when jerry sang attics, i was laying on my back in the grass and it was true beauty as only jer could deliver. they canceled the next night and delivered a pissed off message (and rightly so). we headed home rather than continue on, out of money and not needing to add to any more madness. maybe i would have gone ahead if i had none they would never play again... i don't know. i do know i miss jerry a great deal and listening to these shows is fun but sad in the same way. if only to hear him sing attics one more time, i would give just about anything.

I was sold a fake ticket to my 1st Dead show in '89 and ended up crashin' the gate. As the years progressed and as I immersed myself deeper and deeper into (the tail end) of this crazy train called the Grateful Dead, I realized how wrong that was. I was at this show and spent an arm and a leg getting tix to do so. As the people poured over the fence during Desolation Row, I remember thinking what Foolish Hearts these kids have, and hoped that one day they'd realize as I did that you can't just take what you don't deserve. This was the dark side of the scene that ruined the last years of what will be forever known as cultural phenomenon.

gate crasher and he's gone are cut from the same peice of shit paper! You can attend a bad dead show when thousands of non-heads make the place look like fucking watts. Hey gatecrasher, next time I see you at a slayer show I'm going to crash your fucking skull with a 360 roundhouse. You fucking puke! As for the music, just a ho-hum 95 show. Although the new boogie speedway is powerful. Lets just hope these two buttholes aren't on the STS9 tour!

than a whole bunch of you did. I remember tear gas, fences being kicked down and helicopters buzzing the crowd on the lawn. In New Speedway, the line "the darkness has got to go" is repeated over an over for a reason. It was typical behavior for a bunch of spoiled brats who ruined a great venue for everyone, the whole permissive attitude, everyone else was doing it why shouldn't I? because it was wrong!!! It hurt the band and fellow heads, that attitude was pretty much what was wrong with the scene from the late 80's on.

Musically the show was decent for those that remember, a good Desolation, Dire Wolf had substance and the HCS was very welcome.

Yes this certainly was a crazy day, night, and show. To all of you who think that all gate crashers are deviant wannabe fans who ruined your show, I really think you need to grow up. I went over, We were sitting on a blanket by the lake, right beside the rock drainage ditch at the bottom of the hill.I saw a guy come running out from behind us and immediately the dogs and pigs were on him, Then two more. My two friends and I stood up to give a collective "holy shit" when the crowd starts moving toward us. When you have what seems like ten thousand people in a stampede towards you what are you gonna do, sit back down and enjoy your buzz? Hell no. Many of the people who went over didn't plan on it, I had tickets for the 3rd and If I had gone over I never would have gotten to see the show and probably wouldn't have gotten to see Jerry again before his death. So, I am sorry that what happened hurt so many people, But I will never, ever be sorry for What I did.

I was at this show and i had a fantastic time, How can anyone say that a dead show was bad? Youre not a deadhead if you can even say that whatever they did sucked JERRY RULES!!

second that...if you were there, and crashed the gate i hope you hear Attics, and never hear it the same again....damn...thank for ill wishin something like that, i mean, how could one ruin the scene like that and NEVER enjoy attics again?? unless they never got it to begin with??

No band can take a given energy [both good and bad] and adapt it for the zeitgeist of the moment better than the boys. The craziness seemed to motivate Jerry a bit too, more so than the snoozefest of Highgate '95.

I was here, and recall Bobby's jaw just about hitting the stage floor after he had grabbed his acoustic and turned back to face the audience for 'Desolation Row.' Bobby, thanks for delivering and sticking with it thru the rest of the 1st set chaos-the Let it Grow and Tenn Jed are probably the tightest versions of the whole year. Dire Wolf and HC Sunshine are top notch too. Yes, Bobby, that was me jumping up & down like a lunatic in the back of the pavilion screaming 'Let It Grow, Bobby' near the end of set I. Thanks for delivering yet again. Forutnately the yuppies whose seats I squatted in didn't come back until the end of the set, refreshments in hand and chatting on their cel phones about what they just saw.

2nd set was very trippy. Scarlet>Fire>Victim is big time spooky. Bralove sampled the propellers of the Indiana State Police's helicopters during 'space' and sent them thru the entire PA.

There was one of those low wattage, high quality FM broadcasts of this show. Who's got the sound check from this show? HIt me up at beb252@hotmail.com

VoC wasn't the only message to the crowd that night. Looking at the setlist, there was also It's All Too Much and New Speedway Boogie, an obvious Altamont reference. I guess we can be thankful that no one got killed (maybe partly thanks to that last song, though I wasn't there).

Im from Indiana and these punks cost me my only chance to see Jerry, I had 4 tickets that cost 75 bucks each not only out the show but 300 bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!

the party with CHEF RAH that lasted 2 days was the highlight of Indiana

Yeah, so ... I was there. I was in the lawn, and I remember when the rioters broke through the fence.

I remember some punk-ass kid sliding down into the lawn right next to me with a big s**t-eating grin on his face, trying to blend in with me and my friends. And I remember standing up and shouting at the top of my lungs, "If you don't have a ticket, you don't F*ing belong here. Go the F* home."

And I wasn't the only one. There were plenty of people pissed off at the rioters, well before they cancelled the show. I camped out for tickets for both nights, with some of my best friends, and we dumped a ton of money on travel expenses to get the tickets. My girlfriend and I decided that we didn't want to see the second show if the crowd was going to ruin the show. So by the time the announcement came down the next day, we had already cancelled our show -- we traded our tickets (which were going for $100+ dollars, but we weren't interested in cash -- that's not what it was about), and drove home to consider going to St. Louis. We didn't find out until later that day when the roommates came in behind us that the second show had been cancelled.

In fact, we walked out of the first show. The last tune I heard as we were leaving was "Victim or the Crime" -- clearly a message to the crowd, which largely fell on deaf ears. We weren't the only ones walking out, although most people stayed to see the rest of the very short show. I remember people praying at the gates, clearly trying to help mend the damage done -- for what it was worth.

Those of you who crashed the gates, I hope you've grown up since then. And I hope you've asked yourself just who the hell you thought you were rioting against -- because in the end, you hurt the band, you hurt yourselves, you hurt me, and you hurt the entire tour. And for what? To mess with the pigs? For the thrill of it?

You weren't the victims -- you were the crime. And it really is that simple.

That said, the tiny bit of the show that was free from this madness was good -- at least, that's the way I remember it. And I remember Victim being a very passionate rendition.

Yes, a very dark, strange, twisted and confusing night. I didn't even mention the insanity in the lot, the campgrounds, or the interstate surrounding the venue. All in all, my darkest show, and a very painful and sad memory.

I'm downloading the show anyway -- you have to take the bad with the good.

Go to bottom of post for links to video of the riot. For what it's worth here's my story of that day--I remember the crowd cheering as the gatecrashers came over the fence. The people around me were very excited and laughing. AND I QUOTE THE BANDS LETTER "At Deer Creek, we watched many of you cheer on and help a thousand fools kick down the fence and break into the show. " REMEMBER WHILE THE GATECRASHERS CAME OVER THE CROWD CHEERED! YOU CAN HEAR IT IN THE BOOTLEG Listen to Desolation Row at 1 min 30 sec's.. the CROWD GOES WILD. I remember before the show people saying there was going to be a riot because the cops were acting like OVER THE TOP DICKHEADS arresting kids all over the place and with a huge attitude about how they were going to teach these damn hippies some hoosier respect. When the riot actually happened and all that night, everyone we talked to thought it was great. Remember the band's letter "we watched many of you cheer on and help a thousand fools kick down the fence and break into the show." We went to Pine Lakes and partied down after the show, walking through the smashed fence and down the hill past the upside down police cars. Nobody was mad at the gate crashers UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING WHEN THE BAND ANNOUNCED IT HAD CANCELLED THE SHOW. I didn't even realize it was a "riot" until the radio announcers said so when I woke up the morning of the 3rd. Then and only then did signs appear saying "GATE CRASHERS SUCK" but the attitude was still that it was the cops' fault. As a 300+ show head I had more fun at Pine Lakes the night of the cancelled show than the night before. A sad but true end to the greatest band ever. Miss you Jerry. -From someone who was there. For an incredible video of the gate crash as it happened go here: http://lftd.rox.com/GateCrash.html or email me at ascheylus@yahoo.com and I'll send you the video. If you want to see video about how the cops were acting that day click here: http://lftd.rox.com/confrontation.html and there is a group of cops treating a fan like a complete dickhead with the rioters in the background. You can hear on tape "They just beat the shit out of that guy for no reason!" Incredible stuff written for the alternative newspaper I worked for at the time. http://lftd.rox.com/ "Life Following the Dead" written for NUVO Newsweekly.

I was at this show and let me tell you it was one F...ked up night. I sat 3rd row centre floor and when the back fence started coming down the whole band looked worried. Jerry received a death threat, hence the "Dire Wolf" he played. I think more than anything the Dead just wanted the night to end. This attitude showed through in the playing as well. The only songs worth mentioning are "Fire On The Mountain" which is actually a reprise, "Mighty Quinn" and "Attic's". As for the out of hand idiots who started tearing the fence down and all the other shit you stated...UP YOURS! The Dead put out a letter the next day explaining that if fans think they can do anything they want well so can we and cancelled the second night. For historical reasons you should download but not for playing quality.

The Dead cancelled first night of the 2-night stay in Deer Creek because of death threat on Garcia. I was so bummed out when they cancelled but, I guess that's pretty serious rumor or not.
Anyway I remember really diggin' Dire Wolf to say the least. I never heard before live, I had a smile ear to ear during opening notes right up front.

Don't be deceived. Bootleg Cd as the source does not imply that this is a sbd. It is not. It is an aud.

This show was sort of dark and just really strange. The night alone was just nuts with the gate crashing and all. You hear the people rushing in durring desolation row. The show gets very dark when they play fire on the mountain into victim or the crime. The drums>space is also very dark. The recording might not be the best but every dead fan should have this show just because of what happened.

i just do not like aud tapes......blah.....quality is what we should be reviewing dudes and dudettes......the mix is good, but where is da board?

This show really is symbolic of the way it was in '95. No one would argue that Jerry was slipping fast. However, leave to the fans to create inspiration for the band to turn it on. Even if it was in negative form like the gate crashers. The Desolation Row is sung by Bobby with a roar that really carries through, hes paying special attention to the Lyric. The Drums is really great....The New Speedway Boogie nearly takes off like the protest song is was designed to be, but it does fall short. Jerry has a hard time closing the deal in this show. All in all, this is a good one for serious collectors, you can really feel the tension in the air and in the sound. I wasnt there, but I can tell by listenting that "something" was going on.

This is a liberated Silver CD entitled "Big Bust" - I think it is the same source though as the other version listed. Even if it is a different source, I wouldn't suggest you download this one as Scarlet>Fire are split between discs (with fades!) and Quinn The Eskimo is faded out at the end. It also not such a hot show; It's ok for '95 I guess but there are still better shows from that tour available.

not much to say about the show that hasn't already been said.... but I still kinda wonder what kinda show we would have gotten on the 3rd if this didn't happen ... still a very good show for 95 .... well played!
there are 2 different copies of this on here... they both sound like AUDs ... is there any difference between them??? and what does Bootleg CD mean???